Concordia renaissance draws new students
Concordia has experienced a millennial renaissance. Since 2000, the university has doubled its enrolment of out-of-province students, bolstered its research funding and revitalized the physical imprint of its two campuses.
The first trend is striking: Concordia attracted 99 per cent more Ontario students at both the undergraduate and graduate levels over the last decade.
In 2001, some 1,116 Ontario students were enrolled in core programs in the John Molson School of Business, Faculty of Arts and Science, Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science, and Faculty of Fine Arts. Today, the university includes 2,222 Ontario students.
Concordia has increased its share of international students by 150 per cent over the same 10-year period. In 2000, international students numbered 1,785. Today, some 4,709 students from France to India study side by side with Canadian scholars to form Concordia’s total body of 45,126 students.
The following video was prepared by Michel Boyer, a Department of Journalism student:
Research funding on the rise
Concordia scientists, who are connected to Canada’s most important research networks, are obtaining research grants as never before. From 2001 to 2005, research revenue increased 100 per cent at the university. Over the past four years, Concordia’s research funding has averaged $30 million per year.
Concordia is a leader in social sciences research — a focus that has enabled the university to stand out among its sister institutions. Over the last decade, the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada has quadrupled its support for Concordia: It funded 222 projects in 2009 versus 50 in 1999. According to the latest ranking by Research Infosource Inc., Concordia placed 26th for research funding among Canada’s top 50 universities. This fall, professors from the university’s Faculty of Engineering and Computer Science were awarded the most Discovery Accelerator Supplement grants from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
$500 million investment
As a creative institution, Concordia has played an ongoing role in the beautification as well as the sustainable and urban renewal of its city. Concordia has so far invested $500 million in new building projects that are central to the architectural renaissance of downtown Montreal. Now known as Quartier Concordia, the university’s downtown campus stretches across four square kilometres: from Bishop Street south to René-Lévesque Boulevard, west to Guy Street and north to Sherbrooke St.
The revitalization of the Quartier Concordia began with the 2005 construction of the $171.8-million Engineering, Computer Science and Visual Arts Integrated Complex at Ste-Catherine and Guy streets. The 17-floor structure features 300 specialized labs, student areas and Montreal’s largest display of public art. To encourage mass transit use among students and staff, the structure is connected by underground tunnels that reach the Guy-Concordia Métro station, the J.W. McConnell Library Building and the Henry F. Hall Building.
Across the street, a sister building that's also connected to the tunnel network, was constructed for $118.5 million to house Concordia’s John Molson School of Business. The 15-storey structure was designed to meet the highest sustainable standards and garnered silver certification from LEED: Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design. The building features a 300-square-metre solar panel to produce a portion of its energy needs. To encourage the 8,000 undergraduate and graduate students at the John Molson School of Business to leave their cars at home, bike racks are provided outside, an additional tunnel allows subway access and underground parking is not available in the building.
Concordia has also begun to take possession of a religious landmark: the Motherhouse of the Grey Nuns. The university will transform the former religious institution into classrooms and public spaces to welcome the Faculty of Fine Arts. The purchase reinforces Concordia’s commitment to protect city architecture and preserve public art.
West-end campus revival
Concordia has also overhauled its Loyola Campus in Montreal’s west end. The Richard J. Renaud Science Complex, built for $85 million in 2003, is a state-of-the-art teaching and research facility that promotes the cross-fertilization of disciplines. During the same period, Concordia invested $20 million to overhaul its Communication Studies and Journalism Building into an academic gem. Recreation and athletics facilities are being refurbished, too, while a new dome permits year-round use of outdoor game surfaces.
Concordia is also building a $30-million Centre for Structural and Functional Genomics at Loyola. Set to open in 2011, the site will house laboratories for interdisciplin -ary research in genomics and biology. Finally, the university’s $35-million PERFORM Centre — an acronym for Prevention, Evaluation, Rehabilitation and Formation — is slated for completion within the same time span. The multidisciplinary PERFORM Centre will be unique in Canada and bring together researchers from the Department of Exercise Science and other specialists who study how to improve the health of Canadians.
Related links:
• "Mais oui! French factor, location among draws to Concordia" - NOW, April 13, 2011
• Concordia Fast Facts
• Quartier Concordia history
Media contact:
Sylvain-Jacques Desjardins
Senior advisor, external communications
University Communications Services
Concordia University
Phone: 514-848-2424, ext. 5068
Email: s-j.desjardins@concordia.ca
Twitter: http://twitter.com/concordianews